“In their first appearance (Hornet’s Nest, 1997), Chief Judy Hammer, Deputy Virginia West, and reporter-turned-rookie-cop Andy Brazil battled a serial killer in Charlotte, North Carolina. Now, in Patricia Cornwell’s Southern Cross, the trio are dispatched to Richmond, Virginia–via an NIJ (National Institute of Justice) grant–to quell the growing gang problem and modernize the beleaguered Richmond PD. They bring with them a sophisticated computer program for tracking criminal activity and a tried-and-true methodology for reforming Richmond’s men and women in blue. Unfortunately, Hammer, Brazil, and West could not have been prepared for the resentment they would confront… or the bizarre cast of characters they would find upon their arrival: Lelia Ehrhart–wealthy (and nosey) chair of the Blue Ribbon Crime Commission–whose heavy European accent renders her English dangerously hilarious; Butner “Bubba” Flunk IV–tobacco industry worker, gun collector, and UFO aficionado; Smoke–the sociopathic leader of the Pikes gang; and Weed Gardener–14-year-old painter turned master graffiti artist…The novel becomes a satire on city politics, Southern culture, the ever-tense relationship between the police and the public, and the struggles of the average man and woman with computer technology.”

“In the fourth installment of the Earth’s Children series…Auel again describes her characters’ travails, a passionate interest of millions of readers, in impeccably researched detail…The saga continues the cross-continental journey of Ayla, her mate Jondalar and their menagerie to his homeland. En route, they encounter a variety of problems, yet manage to find panaceas for each. Their enlightened compilation of skills, inventions, therapies and recipes transforms the voyagers into spirit-like personas providing The Others with constant awe.”

“Chicago defense attorney Martin Vail, a prosecutor’s worst nightmare. Vail has vexed the political machine by winning a multimillion-dollar brutality judgment against the city, county and state police, but the powers that be think they see a way to pay him back. After discovering the mutilated body of Archbishop Richard Rushman in the rectory of his church, police find Aaron Stampler cowering in a confessional, blood-soaked and gripping the murder weapon. It seems like an ironclad case–psycho slasher carves up “the Saint of Lakeview Drive”–and a hostile judge appoints Vail as pro bono defense attorney, hoping to publicly humble him. Vail is impressed by Stampler, a runaway from the bishop’s haven, Savior House, and builds a maverick defense team to butt heads with vengeful prosecutor Jane Venable…”

“Phillip Barkley, the disillusioned protagonist of this nifty political thriller, has been sidelined as an investigator at the Justice Department since he blew the whistle on a fundraising scandal on Capitol Hill. About to chuck his pretense of a job and head to the West Coast to restart his life, he’s still grieving the death of his daughter when Martin Green, the aide to a presidential hopeful, goes missing in what might be the kind of breach of national security that could destroy Warren Young’s hopes for higher office. When Green’s body is found, Phillip is assigned to work with an ambitious young FBI agent who’s too politically naive to understand that she and Barkley are supposed to close the case before it can taint Young’s campaign, not find out who framed Green and why. But whoever it is that doesn’t think they’ve gotten the message will do whatever’s necessary to keep Phillip from stumbling on the same truth that got Green killed–including killing again. Double-dealing abounds in this well-written, fast-paced story, which has as many twists and turns as the road to the White House.”

Noting that “most United States newspapers did not play up Earth Hour” and that the Canadian papers which were reviewed “previewed Earth Hour a lot more prominently” and “dominated with Earth Hour pictures,” David Gough asks, why did Earth Hour have a larger profile in Ontario?01

It is 1988, and the American research vessel Fanning II is conducting underwater tests off the coast of Greece when it discovers traces of the Dakar , an Israeli submarine lost in 1967. The Dakar so concerns U.S. intelligence that a file, code-named Bright Shark, remains open after 20 years. Nor is America the only interested party. As Navy lieutenant Edna Haddix and Department of Energy troubleshooter Wendell Trent seek to solve the Dakar ‘s mystery, Israel and the U.S.S.R. join forces to preserve the submarine’s secret–at the price of direct confrontation with the U.S.“

In his 8th Elvis Cole mystery, Crais focuses on Joe Pike, “Cole’s tough and hitherto totally enigmatic partner. It’s Pike who breaks in on Cole’s reunion with Lucy Chenier, his lawyer/broadcaster lover who has just moved from New Orleans, to ask for Elvis’s help in tracking down the missing daughter of a rich and powerful Hispanic businessman. When the girl turns up murdered in Griffith Park, it’s Pike who gives a nerdy medical examiner valuable assistance; and when it turns out that the girl’s death is linked to several other murders, it’s Pike who is charged with killing the chief suspect.“

“The dream jolts her awake. In the hazy gray glint of a Los Angeles dawn, it leaves her feeling anxious, disconnected…Her memory has vanished. She doesn”t know if Ariel Gold, the name on a California driver”s license, is hers. All she knows in her panic is that she is badly cut and bruised, she is in a house that has been viciously ransacked, and, on a crumpled heap of clothes, there is a blood-caked shirt — and a gun. Alone and completely disoriented, “Ariel” begins her search…“

“The concept on which this medical thriller is based is…the use of the latest biogenetic technology to spread deadly diseases in order to make a fortune curing them…At the end of World War II, Army officers Webb and Parker make a deal with the sinister but brilliant Dr. Ran, head of an infamous Japanese institute that uses prisoners as guinea pigs in a germ-warfare program: their silence about his crimes for his scientific cooperation. Forty-five years later, Ran is chief researcher for Webb’s giant pharmaceutical company, Parker is the U.S. Army’s surgeon general, and the stage is set for a potentially genocidal project masquerading as part of the army’s antigerm-warfare plans. Meanwhile, a Washington epidemiologist discovers several mysterious cases of bubonic plague and, though possibly infected himself, embarks on a race against time to avert a national catastrophe.“

Styrofoam is a brand name for Dow insulation and the common name for all forms of polystyrene. The fact that it’s lightweight and cheap to produce makes it popular with manufacturers. But polystyrene is a landfill nightmare because of it’s initial bulk and the very long time that it takes to decompose. Also the fact that when it finally does break up it does so into pieces small enough to be ingested by birds and subsequently kill them via starvation.

“The broad field of waste management is a complex discipline that includes, but is not limited to, environmental protection, public education, waste reduction, recycling, composting, garbage collection, landfill construction and maintenance, data gathering and analysis, government regulation, and public relations. For municipal governments it requires staff that is continually learning new strategies, complying with government regulations and adapting and advancing techniques of waste diversion, collection and disposal. In London, the program is referred to as the Continuous Improvement System.”01

Now, the City of London wants your opinion. You are being asked to read it’s just-released consultative ‘Road Map to Maximize Waste Diversion in London‘ report, that “outlines and explains a number of options the City has compiled and/or developed to help Londoners achieve higher diversion rates,” and to complete/submit a questionaire/comments form that it contains.

In “Save 40 Bucks a Year at Tim Hortons“(London Commons; 2007/08/24), Annmarie decries disposable paper cups. And she’s right to do so. Discarded Timmy cups seem to be everywhere. They’re a frequent eyesore at LTC stops, even the relatively few locations that actually happen to have a waste receptacle (I won’t rant about the LTC benches with the built-in but sealed-up waste receptacles here… that merits it’s own future post).

Annmarie suggests that TH’s will reduce the cost of a coffee by 11 cents for those people who bring their own mug. But even if that’s true, should we jump to the conclusion that TH’s cares a hoot about our environment? Isn’t it equally possible that it’s simply a calculated, economic decision? By the time you figure in the purchase/replacement costs, handling/washing, etc. of cups and plates, isn’t it possible that TH’s simply figures that paper products costs the company less? After all, it isn’t as if TH’s has to pay the costs of dealing with discarded product once it leaves their stores. It isn’t as if London levies a tax on such things in order to recoup the cost of having to deal with TH mess.

Click on either image to enlarge.

Ever see one of these? If you’ve ever ordered one of their donuts or cookies, etc. then you’d have to be pretty quick not to. It’s as if all of their employees are trained to give you a paper product by default

And it makes no difference if you happen to be an in-store customer. It doesn’t usually even matter if you specifically tell them that your order is “for here” instead of “to go.” In my experience, it often doesn’t matter if you specifically tell them “I don’t need a bag.”

And of course, each of these orders is accompanied by up to a half-dozen paper napkins. It doesn’t matter that the bag may only contain a single item. It doesn’t matter that each customer table has a dispenser from which the customer can help themself to however many they may require (usually fewer, I’m guessing). It doesn’t matter if they’re used or not. Just toss them in the garbage on your way out.

I haven’t seen much evidence that the Tim Horton company cares about the environment. Oh sure, they spend some of their advertising bucks trying to convince you that they’re a good corporate citizen, but how often do you see any truth in advertising? By extolling you to “Respect the Environment” on the back of their bags, I suppose they’re hoping that you will jump to a conclusion that they care. But does that qualify as proof?

When Tim Horton’s starts to serve up everything on china, by default, and customers are required to specify paper in order to get products that way, then maybe I’ll be willing to consider whether or not they actually give a damn besides anything other than their bottom line.

I propose that homeowners be required to connect their eavestrough downspouts to rain barrels. Rather than allowing that water to run off into the sewer system, it can easily be collected and used.

As the amount of concrete in the city increases, and as green space which could otherwise absorb the rainfall decreases, rainfall can end up overflowing a city’s pipes. 1

“Capture rainwater for your garden using a cistern or a rain barrel. Make sure your barrel is covered with a tight-fitting lid or screen to keep disease-carrying mosquitoes from breeding there.” 2

“Disconnecting downspouts slows the flow of water into drains and sewers during heavy rainstorms. In some parts of the city, sewers back up during bad storms, flooding basements with filthy water.” 1

“During very heavy flows, water from sanitary sewers — which carry waste from baths and toilets — can get mixed with water from storm sewers, which are supposed to carry surface run-off.” 1

“During heavy rainfalls, the volume of stormwater in the combined sewer system can be as much as 75 times more than during dry-weather flows.” 3

“Water that comes to city dwellers in the form of rain is hurried–into storm sewer systems and away by asphalt, concrete, or the roof of your apartment, surfaces that don’t absorb water. Sewer systems in many cities combine household sewage with storm water in the same pipes. Because of population growth since these older sewer systems were installed, sewers overflow when it rains a lot. That means sewage gets dumped, untreated, into rivers and lakes.” 4

“Rain barrels are a great way to save water outdoors as is washing your car at a car wash that recycles their water.” 5